Blogs from Beppu, Oita, Japan, Asia

Tuesday, 25th June 2019 I participated in a Kyushu day tour departing from JR Hakata Station covering Dazaifu as well as the hot spring towns of Yufuin and Beppu. Earlier on, I had my breakfast at the pop-up Hello Kitty Cafe within the station concourse. The itinerary is spelt out as follows:- 8.50am - Meet up with the Korean-speaking guide at JR Hakata Station. I was given a copy of the English itinerary and the guide would try her best to include some English during her commentary. 9.00am - Departure to Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine. 9.30am - Arrival at the Shrine. We had about an hour to explore the shopping street leading towards the Shrine. It was crowded even on a Tuesday. Admission to the temple complex is free. 10.30am - Departure to Yufuin. 12.00pm - Arrival ... read more

Tajfun Chaba, podąża za nami cierpliwie jak funkcjonariusz SB. Tak już chyba pozostanie, niestety, do samego Tokio. Według miejscowych służb meteorologicznych wciąż wyprzedzamy go o pół dnia. Wyganiając nas przedwczoraj z Yakushimy wpakował w dodatkowe koszty. Zamiast przyjemnie i leniwie płynąć promem, musieliśmy wydać prawie dwa razy tyle na podróż wodolotem. Pal sześć koszty. Żal pozostaje, gdy uciekając przed nim musimy wykreślać z naszego planu podróży kolejne punkty. Na Yakushimie postraszono nas, że poranne, poniedziałkowe rejsy wodolotów Jetfoil będą prawdopodobnie ostatnimi przed uderzeniem żywiołu i jeśli z nich nie skorzystamy, zostaniemy uwiezieni przez wiatr i 10 metrowe na fale na parę dni. Nie było więc wyboru. Nasz wysłannik, Sebastian, doskonale wywiązał się z zadania i cierpliwie stojąc w porannej, dwuosobowej kolejce zdobył dla naszej 8 osobowej grupy bilety na os... read more

From Tokyo taking the fast trains was an amazing experience, the Shinkansen is fast and always on time, I transferred in Osaka then took a tad bit slower train heading for Beppu, and of course I took advantage of the cheap bento being sold at kiosks in the train station, I fell asleep on the train knowing that Beppu is 2nd to the last stop, somehow I woke up and found the train stopped at a station, trying to get my bearing, I peeked outside and saw the sign Beppu! darn we are here, I hurriedly grabbed my backpack slinging it in my shoulder quickly and went towards the open door, and as luck would have it, it closed on me, catching me by the rucksack! I forced myself out wiggling desperately to free myself before ... read more

So after a very long hiatus and rather hectic 2 months, the quater is over and I can finally relax and enjoy a 2 small break from school. As other graduate students and Masters holders would tell you, grad school is the part of the education process where you never really stop working. Reading has to get done, presentations have to be made and presented, final term papers of 5000 words have to be written and so on. I have paid my dues and spent way too many nights not falling asleep before 2am to tell you that it is a long and very tiring process. I have really enjoyed my classes this quarter, but I am really looking forward to my much lighter quarter that gives me Mondays off! Maybe I will be able to ... read more

Het Sakura-feestje was heel erg leuk en gezellig. Wij hadden ook stroopwafels meegenomen en uitgedeeld - ze vonden die erg lekker. Er waren kinderen tussen de 8 en 11 jaar en een heel aantal tussen de 17 en 30 - in totaal waren we waarschijnlijk met 15 man, minstens. We zijn opgehaald en teruggebracht met een jeep, Alexander was natuurlijk veel te lang en dat bracht de nodige hilariteit mee, en we hebben email-adressen uitgewisseld. Er waren hapjes en drankjes en we hebben heel veel gekletst - kortom, het was een hele leuke ervaring! De volgende dag stond in het teken van reizen en vulkanen. Eerst hebben we met verschillende treinen gereisd. In tegenstelling tot het openbaar vervoer in Nederland, rijd in Japan alles op tijd - eventuele afwijkingen van het schema zijn slechts seconden. Dit ... read more